#HealthBytes: 5 amazing health benefits of stretching
What's the story
When you say you're too busy throughout the day to spare an hour for gym, we understand. With increasingly exhausting schedules, extracting time for a full-fledged workout can be quite a daunting task. That's where the magic of stretching comes into play. With daily stretching for just 5-10 minutes, you can improve your mental and physical well-being. Here are 5 amazing health-benefits of stretching.
Posture
Stretching can help you improve your posture
By lengthening tight muscles in your body, stretching helps them relax, thus promoting better posture. Having a healthy posture is crucial for good circulatory, digestive, and nervous system. Further, studies show that stretching muscles of lower back, chest and shoulders keep your spine in alignment. So, build the habit of performing regular stretches to reduce risk of developing postural deformities.
Blood Flow
Regular stretches improve blood flow in your body
Performing stretches can also help improve blood circulation to your muscles. This is important as a healthy muscle blood flow helps reduce soreness, shorten workout recovery time, and is great for overall health. Other benefits from improved circulation are better cell growth, and healthy organ functioning. Your body will also experience reduced blood pressure, and a more consistent blood circulation.
Flexibility
Stretching will give you better range of motion; enhanced flexibility
Stretching, by loosening and relaxing your muscles, helps improve your flexibility, thereby resulting in a better range of motion, and reduction in fatigue, muscle soreness. Enhanced flexibility is also known to improve your balance, thus reducing risk of falls, and helping prevent injuries. With just 5-10 minutes of routine stretching, you can feel the change- improvement in flexibility and better body balance.
Stress, Sleep
Stretching helps reduce stress levels; promotes better quality sleep
It's an established fact that physical health and mental health go hand in hand. Stretching for one, helps reduce stress, by easing muscle soreness and reducing tension, thus reducing stress. Moreover, it keeps dreadful mental-health issues like anxiety and depression in check. What's more? With reduced stress and a relaxed body, you'll be able to fall asleep quicker, and also experience better quality sleep.
Energy
All in all, stretching will help boost your energy levels
Some days you feel so groggy and worked up that it seems impossible to survive through the day. But be assured, by giving you better muscle strength, increasing blood circulation to the muscles, stretching helps in upping your energy levels. Apart from that, by reducing stress and enhancing your mood, it also improves your mental well-being. All this helps in increasing your energy levels.